Rites of Passage by Betty Bokor
Jareth/Sarah. When Sarah is called to save the King, her life takes a whole new course, again.
Spoilers: The movie, the book, and some of the Return series.
Disclaimer: The Labyrinth original characters belong to The Jim Henson Company and Lucasfilms Ltd. This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.
A.N. The weekend is over.
Rites of Passage
Chapter 22
Sarah looked at the clock on her nightstand. It was still Sunday morning aboveground. She nestled down between the sheets. Maybe if she closed her eyes tight and remained still she could pretend he was still there… No. The emptiness around her was too immense to ignore. He was gone and there were not many chances that he would come back.
She closed her eyes again and tried not to cry. She knew he had to leave. She had prepared for it. She should be grateful that she had gotten as much time with him as she had... But the sadness was overwhelming. She cried quietly for a while as she tried to concentrate on the good memories of the weekend. Suddenly, one idea made her sit up in bed. Was she pregnant? After all, the pregnancy had been her main goal. Unfortunately, she had almost two whole weeks before finding out if she was late. Perhaps she could use an early home pregnancy test after eight or nine days or she could get a blood test. The results of the analysis would be pretty precise, but it worried her that something in her blood revealed the special nature of her child… if there was a child. Maybe she should wait until her toxicology rotation took her to work in the lab, in three weeks, and do the test herself. It just seemed like an eternity. And she actually had no idea if a pregnancy was even possible between a human and a fae.
She put her hands over her abdomen. Could a little piece of him be growing there?
She sighed. She would have to wait.
Now, what she really needed was a shower and to change the sheets in her bed.
She walked to the bathroom and took a long, warm shower that allowed her to cry a while longer. When she was done, she wrapped herself in a towel and walked to the living room to pick up the clothes that had been thrown on the floor. As soon as she grabbed her burgundy dress, she realized Jareth's clothes were gone. The gloves and the album were gone as well. She hurried to the bedroom and checked the nightstand. The crystal was there. The feathery cloak was on her bed and on her dresser were the ballroom photos. She sat on the edge of the bed and tried to calm down. One more time she had been taken over by an irrational fear, the fear that it had all been a dream, the fear that it had not happened. Was this the result of mixing two worlds? Could she keep it together?
Yes. She would be fine. She just needed to stop second-guessing everything around her. She had made a decision and she had followed through. Now she had to relax, wait, and deal with whatever came next whenever it happened.
She got dressed and took the linens to the laundry room in the basement of the building. A couple of hours later she made the bed with the clean green sheets. She wanted to keep the bed as he had left it the first time.
From the chair close to the bed she picked up the pillow that she had left untouched. She did not want to wash his pillow. It was not really dirty; he had used it for a very short while… and it smelled like him.
It was a beautiful scent and every time she smelled it she felt closer to him.
Around midday she had a light lunch while she watched the rain falling outside her windows. Then she set herself to work on a new album for her pictures. She still had two days left of leave and she had lots to do.
Jareth walked toward the glass house for a few meters and then stopped. He turned and looked at the calm sea in front of him. He slowly undressed, walked into the warm waters, and dove in. He swam out to sea for half an hour and then turned around and swam back to the beach. He was not as tired as he would have liked to be, but he was feeling at fault. He had taken two whole days for himself. Why was he letting his parents take care of all of his affairs? He had left his kingdom in their hands, including the wished-away. He needed to go back and reassume his duties, at least until his army was ready for the last incursion.
He took a quick shower in the glass house and got ready to go to his castle. Before leaving he looked around. He had found solace in the solitude of that place for centuries. Now it seemed desolate.
He was in his bedroom just a few seconds later. He walked into his closet to choose an attire appropriate for the evening. He had not spent more than a couple of minutes there, when he heard a knock on the bedroom door. It was his mother.
"I was certain you'd come back," she said with a smile when he opened the door.
He invited her to come in. He knew she would want to talk about his escapade. He was just not very sure of how much he was willing to share. He did not think Sarah would appreciate it if he shared too much.
"So?" she asked as she checked the clothes he had displayed on the bed.
"So?" he repeated.
"Oh, Jareth! Did you see her?"
"Yes, of course I did. We had dinner together."
She smiled happily. "Did she cook for you?"
He could not understand why that could be important, but it was something he did not mind talking about. "In fact she did. It was a wonderful dinner. She took care of every detail. She even gave me some belated birthday presents," he explained as he tried to decide between two silk shirts.
Lady Anwen barely hid her delight. "Presents? That's so kind…"
He looked at her and smiled. She had never been excited about any of his prospective wives —she had openly disapproved of Mizumi— and now she seemed elated about a girl he could never have. Women were still strange to him. "On the nightstand," he signaled with his head.
His mother moved the gloves to the side with an approving look and then picked up the album. "Wow! This is so thoughtful… Look at all the creatures she's befriended. I admire her patience… I've never been too fond of their antics," she ended apologetically. "It's a pity there's not one picture of her here without them climbing on her head or pulling her hair…" she added.
He had to smile. "I'm glad you like it. I found it very interesting, too. I'll share it with them in the morning. I'm sure they'll appreciate it, too."
"I doubt it."
"Mother…" he admonished softly.
"Oh, all right! Let them have it. It won't last long, but-"
"It'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to it."
"All right." She sat on the edge of the bed. "So… did you spend the night aboveground?" she probed.
That was something Sarah would probably not be glad about if he shared it. But he did not want to lie to his mother. He would have to be careful. "No, I left a short while after dinner."
"Where did you go?" she asked with evident disappointment.
"The glass house."
"Oh…" She looked pensive. "Did you get to swim?" she asked. She knew he would go to his place and swim until exhaustion when he was upset. When he did not want to think about something. When he wanted to escape.
"Not as much as I would've liked."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Having some time away from here was good. I feel better now. Ready for what comes next."
"And what comes next?" she asked, fully knowing that he would not discuss it.
"You don't need to worry about that. You're already doing enough. This kingdom would've succumbed long ago without your help," he tried.
"You're working for the whole Seelie Court. To take over your responsibilities here was the least we could do. But that doesn't mean that you can exclude me from-"
"Mother," he interrupted gently. "I'm not trying to exclude you. I haven't shared my final plans with anyone. I've kept you informed every step of the way until now. What I'm asking at this point is that you trust me, that all of you trust me, as you've done it up to here."
"We do trust you, Jareth."
"Then stop worrying about the rest. Give me a few minutes and I'll be ready for dinner."
She reluctantly agreed and left him alone in his room. He was pulling his shirt off when a small piece of paper fell to the floor. It surprised him. He had no pockets. He never had pockets.
He picked up the paper and opened it. He was stunned. It was a picture of Sarah, smiling, and it had a short handwritten note at the bottom.
"Just felt you should know that, if I could, I'd be right beside you all the way, until you came back. You promised me you'd fight to come back. I'll hold you to your word.
Until we meet again; your friend,
Sarah
P.S. As you see, I am taking advantage of my lessons. If you're reading this, it means my magic worked. Can you believe it? Thank you for my powers… I love them!"
Jareth could not take his eyes off the picture. He was amazed. The only thing he would have changed was the word friend. He would not have minded if she had omitted that word. It would have allowed him to believe she cared about him beyond friendship. But the gesture was enough. He would take the picture with him and she would be right beside him all the way.
During dinner the conversation went invariably back to the war, but now and then they tried to talk about other matters. Jareth got an account of everything that had happened while he was gone and promised to search for a couple suitable to adopt the last wished-away child. However, for the first time in his life he realized that, besides Ruy, he was the odd man out. His parents, Shawn and Evangelina, Keene and Izar, and all the other members of his court sitting at the table had their spouses with them. It had never bothered him before. Now he wished Sarah could be there.
After dinner, he worked for a while until he was sure he had chosen the right parents for the child. Then, he went back to his room. He sat on the windowsill and looked out. There was a steady rain falling over the Labyrinth and it made him feel guilty. He knew his mood affected the weather above the Labyrinth. If his longing for Sarah were not as strong as it was, maybe there would be a starry night tonight.
He reached for her picture inside his vest and stared at her smile. They could have been happy…
He decided to go to sleep. He got in bed a few minutes later and immediately felt her absence. He knew it would be the same for whatever he had left of his life; he would always miss her. And this time she had not abandoned him; he had been obliged to leave her behind. There were no hard feelings, no blame, no anger. Just sadness.
Four days after his return to the castle, Jareth was ready to leave again. Everything was in order. He had said his good-byes and he had made his wishes clear to his parents. They would know what to do when he did not come back. He hoped he had taken care of all those who depended on him. He hoped his subjects understood why he had to leave them after having shared so much for so long. He hoped they would remember him with affection and perhaps a little pride.
Shawn and Keene would be part of his army this time. They had a long distance to cover until they reached the borders of their kingdom. Beyond that, the journey would be far more dangerous and a whole army would be too conspicuous, so only Jareth, Ruy, Shawn, and Keene would continue. Once they reached the limits of the Unseelie capital, it would be Jareth on his own.
However, right now, he was —loosely understood— sitting on his throne, not in the formal room, but amid the goblins and the chicken and all the other creatures that had shared many of his days for more than a thousand years. His creatures. And he had a toddler in his arms who was slowly falling asleep as he sang to him.
While the goblins partied around the room, celebrating a new addition to the kingdom, their king watched the child sleep. The runner had given up almost an hour ago, but Jareth had not taken the boy to the nursery yet. He was trying to imagine what it would have felt to have his own child in his arms. Maybe a little boy with beautiful green eyes…
After a while, he carefully stood up and walked out of the room. Nobody paid attention to his exit.
Evangelina was in the hallway, leaning against a wall, waiting for him. As soon as she saw him come out, she straightened up and smiled.
"A boy?" she asked quietly.
"Yes. His parents died a couple of weeks ago. His older brother was not up for the responsibility."
"He looks a little thin," she commented as Jareth passed the baby to her arms.
"He probably lost weight these last weeks. He'll need some extra care until he's strong again."
Evangelina saw the concern in his eyes. And the sadness. "Don't worry, Your Majesty; we'll take good care of him. Have you chosen his new parents yet?"
"I left all the instructions on my desk. My mother will help you. Go ahead, take care of him and I'll see you at the assembly."
Evangelina nodded and walked away with the child. Jareth walked to his room to get dressed for his trip.
One more "last." The last time he held a wished-away in his arms. The last time he helped a couple become a family. The last time he was the King of the Goblins… because from tonight he would only be Jareth, Crown Prince of the Seelie Court, General of the Seelie Army, conqueror of the Unseelie Court… Or he would die trying.
